(RTTNews) - The Iranian mission to the United Nations confirmed in a statement released Thursday that Teheran would “soon” release Sarah Shourd, one of the three US hikers being held in an Iranian prison for more than a year on spying charges. The confirmation came just hours after a brief text message sent to journalists by Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance indicated that one of the three detained Americans will be released on Saturday morning at the Estaghlal hotel. In the brief text message, the ministry did not say which of the three hikers would be released and why. However, the release of the hiker coincides with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, when clemency for prisoners is common. Also, several Iranian news reports indicated that the ceremony will be overseen by one of Iran’s vice-presidents. The three American hikers–Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, were arrested on July 31, 2009 after they strayed accidentally into Iranian territory while trekking the mountains in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region that borders Iran. Since their arrest, the trio have been held in Teheran’s Evin prison. Though the US has repeatedly urged Teheran to release the three detained Americans, Iranian Intelligence Minister Haidar Moslehi had said earlier that Tehran has enough proof to link the three detained Americans to US intelligence services. But Moslehi said last month that the investigation into the three detained hikers were nearing completion, without providing further details. In February 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had renewed calls for the release of the hikers, saying that Iran “should unilaterally release” the Americans on humanitarian grounds as their continued detention “is baseless.” In a statement issued on the eve of the anniversary of their arrests in July this year, US President Barack Obama urged the Iranian government to release the detained hikers, insisting that they had no connection with the US government or its intelligence agencies. Stressing that the three had committed “absolutely no crime,” Obama said the trio were “simply open-minded and adventurous young people who represent the best of America, and of the human spirit.” Earlier, Iranian government had permitted the mothers of the detained hikers to meet their children in May 2010. Iran said the decision to grant them 7-day visas to visit their children was made on humanitarian grounds. The mothers met with the three detained hikers at the Estaghlal Hotel, which has now been chosen by the Iranian authorities to release Sarah Shourd, the only female in the three-member group detained in Iran. 1 2 Next Page
Read Also
Related Topics
Tags: Chosen, Hiker, Identifies, Iran, new, News, Released, Sarah, Shourd